The origin story of many cocktails has gotten blurred over the years as myths take over — for example, did author Ernest Hemingway really invent the Bloody Mary after his doctors told him to stay away from alcohol? (The tomato juice and other ingredients helped to mask the taste of the vodka, the story goes.) Probably not, but that hasn’t stopped people from giving him credit.
Similarly, the Brown Derby cocktail has a murky backstory surrounding it, one that a recent book, “Of All the Gin Joints” by Mark Bailey, touches on in the midst of capturing early Hollywood’s infatuation with fame, fortune and booze. Was it created at the now-defunct Los Angeles restaurant of the same name, both of which were wildly popular in the 1930s? Or did another nearby restaurant christen the cocktail after its neighbor? Or is it called the Brown Derby simply because it looks like a brown hat? Wherever it came from, the bourbon drink remains a staple in classic cocktail repertoires.
The Brown Derby
2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. of honey
Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
— Mark Bailey, “Of All the Gin Joints”
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